Beaver’s goes back to its barbecue roots
In the annals of Houston culinary history, Beaver’s was one of the pioneering restaurants that helped the city grow into a nationally recognized dining destination.
Introduced by chef Monica Pope in 2007, Beaver’s combined the “gastropub” concept of high-end bar fare with the laid-back character of a classic Houston icehouse. The menu fused craft cocktails and beers with ampedup local favorites such as a chicken-fried rib-eye steak and an overstuffed fried shrimp po-boy using locally baked bread. Barbecue was prominently offered on the menu, too. Unfortunately, the smoked meats never lived up to the quality of the rest of the food.
Ten years later, under the direction of co-owners Jon Deal and Todd Johnson, Beaver’s has a new, second location on Westheimer near the Galleria — and a new commitment to ambitious barbecue. Thanks to chef and pitmaster Arash Kharat, Beaver’s is finally serving barbecue worthy of its Houston roots.
Kharat grew up in the Alief area and went to Elsik High School. His father was a corporate chef for Marriott, and Kharat followed in his footsteps by working restaurant jobs after high school. He eventually settled into a corporate chef job in the oil and gas industry.
Three years ago, he visited Glitter Karaoke in Midtown. At the time, the bar was known for hosting pop-up cooking events, including Blood Bros. BBQ featuring fellow Alief natives Terry and Robin Wong (the owners of Glitter) and pitmaster Quy Hoang. Kharat started hanging around and helping out with the barbecue pop-ups.
He eventually cooked up his own pop-ups at Glitter, featuring creative twists on barbecue that incorporated culinary influences from the diverse Alief neighborhood where he grew up. Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian ingredients became part of his regular repertoire.
Kharat used social media to get the word (and pictures) out about his ’cue. The pop-ups became so popular, organizers had to start selling advance tickets.
He eventually quit his corporate job and started helping out full time with Blood Bros. BBQ as well as training with chef Ara Malekian of Harlem Road Texas BBQ.
“I just told them I’d do whatever they needed,” Kharat says. “Trimming briskets, cleaning smokers, anything I could do to learn the craft of barbecue.”
In 2016, the team at Beaver’s recruited him to be head chef and pitmaster at the new location. Working from two Pitmaker “vault” smokers, Kharat has succeeded in bringing the quality of the barbecue at the new location up to par with Houston’s best smoked-meat purveyors.
To be sure, the menu still features a great selection of cocktails and beers, alongside food favorites such as brisket queso and frito pie mac ’n’ cheese. The Texas barbecue trinity of brisket, ribs and sausage is also a fixture worth ordering at the new location.
Other more inventive barbecue dishes are available from time to time, usually on weekends. A meaty beef chuck rib is a standout. And if you are so inclined, you can ask to have the whole thing battered and fried. Though fried barbecue is sure to agitate purists, it’s surprisingly delicious (and extraordinarily decadent).
Empanadas are a popular menu item, too. Kharat rotates different fillings into the crispy fried pies, including shredded, smoked brisket. His take on “poutine,” a Canadian dish of gravy-soaked and cheese-covered french fries, features a generous dollop of vinegary pulled pork.
Now that the barbecue offerings at the Westheimer location are on point, Kharat has begun working to duplicate the quality at the original Beaver’s location on Decatur in Sixth Ward. He still occasionally consults with Pope on sourcing ingredients and other restaurant matters.
A decade on, a Houston food favorite is coming full circle. jcreid@jcreidtx.com twitter.com/jcreidtx